Units are essential for purchasing ships, upgrades, and resources. Here are some early-game money-making strategies:
- Scanning Flora & Fauna: Always scan everything! Fully scanning a planet's flora and fauna can net you hundreds of thousands of units, especially with upgraded scanners.
- Ancient Bones/Salvageable Scrap: Look for planets with these valuable resources. They can be dug up with the Terrain Manipulator and sell for high prices.
- Whispering Eggs (Larval Cores): Risky but lucrative. Harvest Larval Cores from Whispering Eggs (guarded by Biological Horrors) and sell them.
- Trade Routes: Learn the economy types of star systems (e.g., Mining, Manufacturing, Technology). Buy goods cheap in one system and sell them high in another.
- Mission Agent Missions: Complete missions from the Space Station Mission Agent for reliable unit rewards.
Prioritize scanner upgrades for your Multi-tool early on; it's a passive income generator.